“Ember… are you okay?”
Si Prince yun. Kanina pa kami nandito sa isang Chinese restaurant sa Cavite. May sinusundan kami dito.
Si Natasha.
She’s four tables away from us. Tapos may kasama din siyang guy. They look serious.
“Ember?”
“Uhh—Yeah?”
“I’m asking if you’re okay.”
“Umm, yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Do you think they’re in a relationship?”
Hindi ko alam kung ano yung dapat kong isagot. Si Prince… he has feelings for Natasha. It’s been a long time since he last saw her. Laking States kasi siya, tapos every summer lang siya nakakauwi. He met Natasha 5 years ago, tapos since then lagi na silang nagkikita kada bakasyon. Two years siyang di nakauwi kasi marami din siyang inaasikaso dun. Ang sabi ni Prince sakin, babawi siya ngayon kay Natasha.
But the problem is… he’s not sure if Natasha agrees for the same thing.
Maraming pwedeng mangyari in two years. Like now. She’s having a date with this guy. Di ko lang nasabi kay Prince na pangatlong beses ko nang nakita si Natasha na nakikipag-date sa ibang lalake.
Well, actually, hindi naman naging sila. Pero dati, para talagang sila. Magulo ba? Sabihin nalang nating… M.U. sila dati. Yun yung term sa ganun, di ba?
Eh ano ba kasing alam ko dyan? Narinig ko lang yang term nay an kina Gertrude at Candice eh. I never got interested into things like this.
“You can’t judge the book by its cover,” sabi k okay Prince, “I mean, look at us. Sa tingin mo aakalain ng mga tao ditong magkaibigan lang tayo?”
“So… you’re saying they can be not.”
He flashed me a smile. Nginitian ko siya pabalik. I picked bits of carrots from my vegetable salad habang pinagmamasdan si Natasha pati na din nung guy.
That guy. He seemed so familiar. Pero, hindi ko matandaan kung saan ko siya unang nakita.
“You’re still weird on eating,” sabi sakin ni Prince.
“Ako… weird? Pati sa pagkain? How come?”
“You’re avoiding the catsup.”
“Prince… duh? Catsup is not common for a vegetable salad.”
“That proves you’re weird.”
“Prince, you’re not making sense anymore. Hindi lang naman ako ang may ayaw sa catsup, ah?”
“You’re also avoiding the red bell pepper. And you requested a white plate when you saw that the first plate’s red.”
We sat in silence.
“Ayoko kasi talaga ng pula.”
“You can’t hate the color this much if nothing happened that traumati—”
“Scheisse, stop. Bitte!”
Nagtingan yung mga tao samin. I bit my lower lip.
“Ember?”
“Bi—Bitte. P—Please…” pabulong kong nasabi…
… habang nanginginig.
Oh, God. Ember, what now? Ba’t ka nanginginig?
“Ember, you’re shaking.”
Di ko makontrol yung panginginig ng buong katawan ko. Nagiging pula na yung paningin ko. Not now. Ayoko talaga ng pula. Naaalala ko lang lahat ng nangyari. My artwork. Si Papa. Si Mama. Yung dugo…
